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1. [Tush!] Never tell me; I take it much unkindly
That thou, Iago, who hast had my purse
As if the strings were thine, shouldst know of this.
Speaker:
Audience:
2. Even now, now, very now, an old black ram
Is topping your white ewe.
Speaker:
Audience:
3. That thou hast practised on her with foul charms,
Abused her delicate youth with drugs or minerals
That weaken motion: I'll have't disputed on;
Speaker:
Audience:
4. She loved me for the dangers I had pass'd,
And I loved her that she did pity them.
This only is the witchcraft I have used:
Speaker:
Audience:
5. Who says, “Ancient, conduct them: you best know the place
And, till she come, as truly as to heaven
I do confess the vices of my blood,
So justly to your grave ears I'll present
How I did thrive in this fair lady's love,
And she in mine.”?
Speaker:
Audience:
6. What are the three (3) geographical settings in the play, and what/who do they symbolize?
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7. Othello is a morality play, similar to the “Garden of Eden” story in Genesis. How so?
8. What is the racial make-up of a “Black-A-Moor” (pick 2)?
9. In what three (3) ways is Othello a stranger in Venice?
10. Why is Othello Shakespeare’s most focused, most Aristotlean tragedy?
11. What are the three (3) secret meetings from Act I?
12. In terms of race and history, what is significant about the year in which Othello was written
(early 1600s)? (pick 2)
13. What does the setting (in terms of time of day) in scene one (i) symbolize?
14. What does Brabantio say (and therefore foreshadow) is Othello’s tragic flaw?
15. What is a “cuckold,” and who is going to be accused of being one later in the play?
16. Name two things that appeared on the stage of Othello that were never seen before.
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17. What are the two great fears of Elizabethan society?
18. What main element of Shakespearean drama did not appear in Greek drama?
19. Who are the four (4) highest ranking characters in Act I?
20. Who has the only soliloquy in Act I, and what does this character reveal in it?
21. What major quote best supports the problem of “appearance vs. reality” in Act I?
22. Explain the relationship between Iago and Roderigo.
23. Othello wins Desdemona’s hand in marriage and his day in court using what major strategy?
24. Name an example of dramatic or verbal irony from Act I.
25. Name three (3) major themes present already in Act I.
26. Name three (3) types of imagery present already in Act I.
27. Discuss the role of “public vs. private” in Act I.
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28. What were the 3 types of “good” women in the Elizabethan era?
29. What were the 3 types of “bad” women?
30. What were two (2) stereotypes of Africans, as told by Leo Africanus?
Matching:
A) Logos
B) Ethos
C) Pathos
_____ 31. Appeal to reason, facts.
_____ 32. The text.
_____ 33. Prose.
_____ 34. Iago’s speech to Brabantio.
_____ 35. Appeal to ethics, morality.
_____ 36. The Duke’s discussion with his Senators of who to send as general to Cyprus.
_____ 37. Appeal to passion, emotion.
_____ 38. Othello’s story of how he was a slave.
_____ 39. Brabantio’s testimony about Othello to the Duke.
_____ 40. The author.
_____ 41. Rhyming verse.
_____ 42. The audience.
_____ 43. Blank verse.
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41. Discuss one major difference between the film version Othello and the written version so far
42. Scan the following lines of iambic pentameter, using “U” for unstressed and “/” for stressed.
She loved me for the dangers I had pass'd,
And I loved her that she did pity them.
This only is the witchcraft I have used:
43. List five (5) reasons why Iago might hate the Moor.
44. Iago says, “By Janus I think so.” Read the following description of Janus and, in a welldeveloped thesis, discuss how Iago is so much like him.
“The first of January was dedicated by the Romans to their God of Gates and Doors,
Janus. A very old Italian God, Janus has a distinctive artistic appearance in that he is commonly
depicted with two faces...one regarding what is behind and the other looking toward what lies
ahead. Thus, Janus is representative of contemplation on the happenings of an old year while
looking forward to the new. Some sources claim that Janus was characterized in such a peculiar
fashion due to the notion that doors and gates look in two directions. Therefore, the God could
look both backward and forward at the same time. Originally, Janus was portrayed with one
bearded face and the other clean-shaven, which may have symbolized the moon and the sun,
or age and youth. Later, he is most often shown with beards on both faces and frequently holds
a key in his right hand. Very early statues of Janus (around the Second Century B.C.) depict him
with four faces.
In his role as the Guardian of Exits and Entrances, Janus was also believed to represent
beginnings. The explanation for this belief being that one must emerge through a door or gate
in order to enter into a new place. Therefore, the Romans also considered Janus as the God of
Beginnings and his name was an obvious choice for the first month of their year...a month
referred to by the Ancient Romans as Ianuarius, which is not so far removed from the modernday "January," taken from the Etruscan word jauna which means "door." Originally, however,
Janus was honored on the first day of every month, in addition to being worshipped at the
beginning of planting season and again at the harvest. Deference was also paid to him at the
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most important beginnings in the life of an individual...such as birth and marriage.
The origins of this God vary somewhat, dependent upon the source. One legend states
that Janus was a mortal who came from Thessaly and was welcomed into Latium by Camese.
The couple are said to have married, shared the kingdom and had many children together,
including Tiberinus, the Tiber River-God. Upon the death of Camese, Janus became the sole
ruler and granted Saturn sanctuary when that ancient God was fleeing from Jupiter. As the first
King of Latium, Janus ensured a time of peace, honesty and abundance for his people...an era
known as the Golden Age. He introduced money, cultivation of the fields and laws. He is also
said to have later married a nymph named Juturna, whose spring and shrine were located
closed to his temple in the Forum of Rome. One of their children was Fons (also known as
Fontus), God of Springs. It was only after his death that Janus was deified and became the
Protector of the City.
In Rome, temples dedicated to Janus were numerous, the most important being known
as the Ianus Geminus, a double-gated structure (one door facing the rising sun and the other,
the setting sun) found on the Forum Romanum through which the Roman legionaries marched
off to battle. This particular temple served a symbolic function. When the gates of the temple
were closed, this represented peace within the Roman Empire. When the gates were open, it
meant that Rome was at war. Between the reigns of Numa and Augustus, the gates were shut
only once. Janus also had a temple on the Forum Olitorium and some time during the First
Century, yet another temple was built in his honor on the Forum of Nerva. This particular
temple had four portals known as the Ianus Quadrifons. At all temples, the priests of Janus
sacrificed to him on a regular basis.
Janus was well-respected and highly-regarded as a God by the ancient Romans and his
dual-faced image could be found on most city gates and many Roman coins. Given his role as
Guardian of Gates, his position as the God of Beginnings and the esteem of having the first
month of the year named in his honor, it is apparent that Janus played a significant role in
Roman myth and religion. He was invoked at the start of each new day and often referred to as
the Porter of Heaven. He particularly presided over all that is double-edged in life and
represented the transition between the primitive and civilization.”
45. Read following two monologues by Othello:
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That I have ta'en away this old man's daughter,
It is most true; true, I have married her:
The very head and front of my offending
Hath this extent, no more. Rude am I in my speech,
And little bless'd with the soft phrase of peace:
For since these arms of mine had seven years' pith,
Till now some nine moons wasted, they have used
Their dearest action in the tented field,
And little of this great world can I speak,
More than pertains to feats of broil and battle,
And therefore little shall I grace my cause
In speaking for myself. Yet, by your gracious patience,
I will a round unvarnish'd tale deliver
Of my whole course of love; what drugs, what charms,
What conjuration and what mighty magic,
For such proceeding I am charged withal,
I won his daughter…
And often did beguile her of her tears,
When I did speak of some distressful stroke
That my youth suffer'd. My story being done,
She gave me for my pains a world of sighs:
She swore, in faith, twas strange, 'twas passing strange,
'Twas pitiful, 'twas wondrous pitiful:
She wish'd she had not heard it, yet she wish'd
That heaven had made her such a man: she thank'd me,
And bade me, if I had a friend that loved her,
I should but teach him how to tell my story.
And that would woo her. Upon this hint I spake:
She loved me for the dangers I had pass'd,
And I loved her that she did pity them.
Rewrite the following monologue in modern-day prose, as a letter of application to a college,
highlighting both his strengths and weaknesses.
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